The present invention relates to gas turbine engines having convergent/divergent nozzles, and more particularly to a nozzle having an efficient flap seal.
A variable area exhaust nozzle may optimize the thrust produced within a gas turbine engine. In augmented gas turbine engines, variable area, convergent/divergent nozzles provide a multitude of nozzle positions. Exhaust gases exiting the turbines pass through the generally decreasing diameter convergent section before passing through the increasing diameter divergent section.
The convergent section may be pivotally connected to a static outer case and to the divergent section. The divergent section may be pivotally connected to the convergent section and to an actuating system radially outboard of the divergent section. The opposite end of the external bearing is pivotally attached to a static outer case.
The convergent and divergent sections generally include flap seals attached to the convergent or divergent sections or a structural member within the engine. The flap seals accommodate changes in an orifice area by sliding as the orifice area decreases or increases.